Dispensable or Indispensible?

Charles de Gaulle once commented: “The cemeteries are full of indispensible men.” He appeared to be commenting on the view - sometimes out of ego and sometimes out of respect for remarkable achievement - that some people cannot be replaced. It's true of course that in one sense each of us are unique and, as parents or marriage partners for example, cannot be replaced.

"He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." Luke 24:45

The Genesis account of
creation is so filled with mysterious symbols and resounding truths that
I never tire of thinking about it.

In Genesis 3:16-3:20, God
chastises Adam and Eve in the strongest of terms. God says to Adam:
"cursed is the ground because of you (3:17)." Imagine how painful this
would be to hear directly from God. It would be like getting fired from
your job, being deserted by your spouse and being bitten by your dog all
on the same day. Total rejection.

Not quite. Our God always
surprises us. Note 3:21: "and the Lord God made for Adam and for his
wife garments of skins and clothed them." This is like your boss firing
you then taking you to a clothing store to buy you a new suit. It does
not happen very often in the human realm.

Bruce Waltke, in his
commentary Genesis (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan) 2001,
quotes Brueggemann: "with the sentence given, God does (3:21) for the
couple what they cannot do for themselves (3:7). They cannot deal with
their shame. But God can, will, and does." They may be expelled from the
Garden, but they will be properly dressed. They are still cared for by
God.

This is, of course, just
the beginning. God cares for his people throughout the tumultuous
history of the Old Testament in countless ways. The New Testament gives
us the gospel, the good news of Jesus among us, and the hope of eternal
life.

There is something that
comes full circle. The infinite humility of God is demonstrated in how
he allows himself, through Jesus, to be crucified. In this way he
becomes naked and vulnerable.

In Luke 23:50 we read about
Joseph from Arimathea, a "good and righteous" man:

This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it
down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in
stone, where no one had ever been laid (Luke 23:53)."

God allowed himself, in
this way, to be clothed by one of his people.

To conclude let us simply
turn to Psalm 105:1: "Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!"